Blank-book



` 'UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- HERMANN H. HOFFMANN AND FRANCIS HERMANHOFFMANN, OF CHICAGO,

' ILLINOIS.

BLANK-BooK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 487,014, dated November29, 1892 Application filed August 18, 1892. Serial No. 443,382. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, HERMANN H. HOFF- MANN and FRANCIS HERMAN HOFFMANN,citizens of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county ofCook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Blank-Books, of which the following is a description,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters ofreference marked thereon.

Our invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in books,the same being especially adapted for blank-books, and particularly tot-he manner of attaching the leaves or pages to the backing, so thatwhen the book is opened the pages will lie perfectly at.

In a patent granted to us December 1, 1891, No. 464,325, we have shown,described, and claimed a blank-book comprising a number of sections orsignatures, each stitched separately through the central fold, combinedwith a suitable hinge or guard secured to the backing and having asuitable filling-piece, said hinge being attached on both exterior sidesof the section at the fold, and we have also included in said patent ahinge or guard comprising a strip or strips of fabric having end piecesor parts, a filling-piece secured to said strip or strips, said endpieces being adapted to receive between them the sections or signatures.It has been found in practicethat books constructed in accordance withsaid patent, while very strong and durable andless expensive than themajority of books on the market, cost rather more than some manufacturers care to expend; and it is the object of the present inventionto make a book which will cost very little, if any, more than the commonold-style books and yet be as strong and durable as the hinge or guardbooks, which cost much more to manufacture.

Our invention therefore consists, primarily, of a book comprisingsections or signatures and a series of stubs, each composed of a stripfolded once in the center and then each half folded, said sections orsignatures being secured to the side folds in said strip.

It consists, secondly, of a guard or hinge for blank-books, comprising astrip of canvas or like material folded with one central and twointervals, said sewing-band being formed like an accordion-belt. Thesewing of all the sections of the book onthis one band necessitates allsections to be carried along on the sewing-- machine until the lastsection is sewed, and this, to say the least, is a very tedious andtroublesome operation. Then, again, to sew this endless band, with allthe sections sewed thereto, to the parchment is another awkwardoperation, for, as the sewing is commenced at the bottom, itnecessitates the employment of extra help or a contrivance to hold upthe balance of the sections for the sewer. In our invention we do awaywith this extra expense and make a stub which holds two sections compacton it, filling up the spaces of these stubs with strips of boards orother material to the thickness of the two sections, thereby enabling usto sew and stitch with great convenience.

Our invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichFigure 1 is a perspective View of a .portion of a book made inaccordance with our invention. Fig. 2 shows the strip before folding;Fig. 3 shows it when half-folded, and Fig. 4 when in condition for use.

In the drawings, A represents a portion of a iiat opening bookconstructed in accordance with our invention and composed of thesections or signatures B.

C is a strip of canvas, muslin, or other suitable fabric of any desiredlength and width. After cutting these strips the desired length wefasten four lling-strips a a a a to one side of the fabric and then foldthe latter with the fillers in four equal parts,`the filling-stripslying between the folds, as shown in the drawings. The first fold in thestrip is then laid IOC guard, the staples being clinched on the insidekof the fold of the strip,the head of said sta-v ples being upon thesection. The other part of the guard is then turned to the saddle andthe second section stapled thereto in the same manner as the first, sothat two sections are fastened to one stub. It will of course beunderstood that these parts may be secured central fold of the strip tothe sewing-,bandsor parchments D,thebindingbeingthencompletedfin theusual manner.`

Having thusdescribed ourfinvention, what we claim as new, and desire tosecure by Let@ ters Patent, isu

1.v A blank-.bookcomprising sections or sig-i natures, a-series .ofstubs, each :composed of a strip folded in the center and then each halffolded, said sections or signatures being socured to the side folds,substantially as described.

2. A guard or hinge for blank-books, comprising.. a strip of canvas orlike material folded with one central and two sidefolds,withfilling-strips secured between the folds, substantially asdescribed.

3. A blank-book comprising sections or signatures, a series of stubs,each stub composed of a strip folded once in the center and then eachhalf folded, and filling-strips secured to said foldedstrip between thefolds, said sections'or signatures being secured to the folds in saidstrip, substantially as described.

4. A blank-book comprising.,sectionsorsigf natures, .a series# oflstubs, each composed lof a strip offcanvaso-rfother fabric folded withone central andA` two ,'sideffolds; illing-stri-ps secu red to the'fabric'Y betweenthe folds. and onv the under sidel of.v said fabric, andlmeans for securing. the leaves of the lsection forsigf nature vtogetherand zto theside folds, substan-` tially asf described.

In witness whereof; we afxoury signatures inpresenceof two witnesses.

HERMANN H lHOFFllIAlNN-. FRANCIS'` HERMAN- HOFFMANN; Witnesses:

E. F. GRUMWART, EDWARD FISCHER.

